Corn-harvester.



W. H. MORRIS.

CORN HABVESTEB.

APPLICATION FILED 51:14.21, 1909.

986,198, Patented Mar. 7, 1911.

5 SKEETSSHEET 2.

W. 'H. MORRIS.

CORN HABVESTEB.

uruuu'xon PILEDSEPT. 21, mos.

Patented Mar.7,1911.

5 BKEBT8-BHEBT 4.

wuwn k? W. H. MORRIS.

CORN HARVESTEB.

APPLICATION FILED $1111 1. 21, 1909.

I Patented Mar.7, 1911.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

avwemm WILLIAM HlVhRRIE. W .Kw

- UNITED srATEs PATENT O FICE.

WEI-IA! 3. atoms, or cannon, mu; n, ASSIGNOB or onn-nsmr r0 nmanw run, or o. Ln, NEBRASKA.

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986,198. momentum- Patented Mar. '1, 1911.

Application fled September at, 1900. Serial No. 510,735.

To All whom it concern: veyer. Fig. 7 is a detail view showing the H. Moms,

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM a citizen of the United States, residing at Carroll", in the county of Wayne, State of Nebraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Corn-Harvesters; and I do hereby declare the following 'to be a.- full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same. v

This invention relates to agricultural implements and more es ecially to a corn harvester of the type w erein the corn is re-. moved from the stalk, the removal bein effected by snapping rolls, and then shucke the shucks being separated from the cobs of corn.

One object of the invention is to improve the general construction of harvesters of this character.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel means whereby corn ears which may have dropped upon the ground during the process 0 harvesting or prior to that process may be picked u deposited in the harvester machinery an shucked with the V other corn which is snapped off the stalks.

With'the above and other objects in view as will be hereinafter ap arent, the invention consists in general 0 a corn harvester provided with devices for carrying the stalks to the rear of the harvester and there snappin the ears ofl", together with novel means or picking up and harvesting the dropped ears in combination with novel cuttlng arrangement for removing the ends of the shucks from the ears.

The invention further consi ts in certain novel arrangement of details and combinations of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and specifically set forth in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, like characters of reference indicate like parts in the several views, and :Figure 1 is a top plan view of a corn harvester constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal median section thereo Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line 44 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a detail view showing the gathering mechanism for the dropped ears. Fig. 5 1s a detail view showing the driving mechanism for the fan and elevator an its contween the ton 26 may be varled at the operators will there ear cuttin mechanism. Fig. 8 is a'sect1onal view on t e line 8-8 of Fig. 7. Fi 9 is a similar view on the line 99 of Fi Fig. 10 1s a detail view of the tractlon wheel clutch mechanism.

In order to make clear the complete application of this harvester certain cuttin mechanism for the ends of the ears as wel as certain husking mechanism has been described but it is to be understood that this cuttin and husking mechanism is merely ty ica of any preferred form.

upported u on suitable tractor wheels 20 provided wit tractor blades 21 is a shaft 22. Mounted on the ends of the shaft 22 are U-shaped supports comprising an inner member 23 provided with a cover plate 24 which is secured to the innermember by means of suitable bolts 25. The wheels 20 are held upon the shaft between the inner member 23 and the cover plate 24 and attached to the inner member23 are the side members 26 of the frame which support the mechanism of the device.

Secured to the shaft 22 and extendin rearwardly therefrom is a tongue 27, whic 'is braced to the shaft by means of diagonal braces 28. This tongue is provided w th a suitable double-tree 29 for the purpose of attaching draft animals and has upon its rear end an operators or drivers seat 30. Adjacent the drivers seat and preferably immediately in front thereof is a standard 31 havin a forked lower end as indicated at .32 an within this forked lower end is supported an axle 33 whereon is mounted a steering wheel 34. The upper end of the standard 31 is provided with a steering arm 35 which is so arranged as to lie convenient to the drivers hand when he is operating the machine. In order that the angle bee 27 and the side members is provided upon the rear of the machinery frame a suitable brace 36 to which is connected a rack engaging lever 37 provided with a handle 38 adjacent the operators seat and this rack engaging lever is arranged to have the .rear end thereof move up and down in a U-shaped ide 39 provided on its inside with suitab e teeth 40 to en-' gage a lip 41 formedon the rack engagin lever 37. The members 37 and 36 are 0 suflicient resiliency to permit the hp 41 to be disenga d from the teeth 40 by pulling the hand e to one side and by depressing the handle the front of the ma- For the purpose of distinguishing between the frame comprising the members 27 and 28 and the frame havin the side members 26 the former will beca led throughout the specification the main frame while the latter will be described as the tilting frame.

Mounted upon the tilting frame is a air of members 42 which are parallel at their u per ends and have at their lower ends a s lght divergence as clearly indicated in Fig. 1. These members 42 are provided throughout their length with valleys 43 for the urpose of receiving the ears of corn. T ese valleys ars further provided with longitudinal slots extending throughout the bottom as indicated at 44 and in these slots moves the upper side of a conveyer belt 45 provided with conveyer fin ers 46 projecting therefrom. The under side of the belt 45 passes below the members 42 as can be clearly seen from reference to Fi 3.

To the shaft 22 adjacent each 0 the wheels 20 are attached sprocket Wheels 47. In the frame members 26 is mounted a shaft 48 and upon the ends of this shaft, which project throu h the frame members 26, are carried sproc et wheels 49 and chains 50 connect each of the sprocket wheels 47 with its respective sprocket 49. A shaft 51 is also supported in the frame members 26 and upon this shaft is carried a sprocket wheel 52 which is connected to a sprocket wheel 53 carried on the shaft 48 by means of a crossed sprocket chain 54. The shaft 51 further supports s rockets 55 which carry the upper end 0 the conveyer belt 45, the lower end being carried by means of sprockets 56 su ported on a shaft 57.

11 order to provide for the variation of the revolution of the wheels 20 in turning a corner the sprockets 49 are loose upon the shaft 48 and have each connected thereto a ratchet clutch member 58 while there is secured to the shaft 48 to rotate therewith an engaging ratchet clutch member 59 which is normally held in engagement with its respective member 58 by means of a suitable coil spring 60 held between the member 58 and a bearin plate 61 mounted on the respective mem r 26.

Securely fixed to the lower ends of the members 42 are extensions 62 provided with slots 63 at the lower end wherein are mounted shafts 64 which carr sprocket-s 65.

These shafts 64 are exten ed through the members 62 and upon their upper ends are carried circular cutting knives 65' of any been preferred form and which are .here shown as having their edges overlapping so as to make a species .of cutting shear. Mounted 1n the members 26 is a shaft 66 provided with a sprocket wheel 67 which is connected by means of a chain-68 with a sprocket wheel 69 mounted on the shaft 48. By means of this arrangement when the shaft 48 rotates the shaft 66 will also rotate. Upon the shaft 66 are mounted bevel gears 70 which are arranged to mesh with other bevel gears 71 carried on shafts 72 whereon are supported sprockets 73. Carried by the sprockets 73 and 65 are stalk gathering conveyers comprising sprocket chains 74 provided with fingers 75 which extend inwardly in opposition to each other. As will be observed from an inspection of Fig. 1 these stalk athering conveyers are wider apart at t e forward end than at the rear. end where they are adjacent the driving sprocket 73.

It will be observed from this construction that when the shaft 66 is rotated by the movement of the wheels 20 the stalk con veyer chains 74 will be caused to move upward on their adjacent sides while at the same time the knives 65 are rotated in the same direction so that the corn is cut off near the bottom and is then moved upward by the stalk conveyers, passing at the same time to the rear of the machine.

In order to remove the ears of corn from the stalks which are being carried up ,by the conveyor there is provided a pair of snapping rolls 76 having their lower ends supported in the members 62 while their upper ends are carried in suitable bearings 77 mounted on the members 42. The upper ends of these sna ping rolls are reduced and are each provide with a bevel gear 78 which meshes with a bevel gear 79 carried on the shaft 72 and rotating therewith. These bevel gears 78 and 79 are so-arranged that the snapping rolls 76 grasp the stalk of corn and move the same downward through the snapping rolls. The rolls are furthermore spread apart at their lower ends to permit the easy introduction of the stalk while at their upper ends they are brought closely together so as to grasp the stalk as it is car-' ried backward and insure its passing downward therethrough and the removal of the ears of corn. In order to prevent the ears from falling throu h the snapping rolls the rolls are positione closely enough together at the upper end that no ears may pass therethrou h. Furthermore, in order that the ears w ich have been snapped oil may be pro erly carried to the upper end of the rolls the conveyor chains 74 are positioned also close together at the upper end so that no ears can slip backward down the snapping rolls 76.

It will be understood that the construction is such that the snapping rolls extend saunas along the members 42 so that but few. of the Learswill :be; conveyed". upward byathejstalk conveyors 74; the majority .of the ears-fallingyover thelconveyersz74. and.dropping into each ear is cut-ofi' so as to leave theshucks free'for removal from the ears. Across each of the'members 42 is mounted a cover plate 80(provided with openings 81 therethrough these openings have adjacent each side thereof a bearing 82 wherein is mounted a rocking guide 83 through which ass the stems 84- of knife or utter mem ers 85. These cutter members are distinguished respectively b the terms front and rear cutter members, t e front cutter member lying toward the snapping rolls while the rear cutter member hes toward the operators seat. Each of the stems 84 is provided with a suitable collar 86 and between the collars 86 and'the guide sleeves 83 are held compression-s'prings 87 which normally serve to hold the knives raised as indicated in Fig. 7.

The stems 84 are further provided with longitudinal slots extendin along their upper ends as clearly indicate in Figs. 8 and 9 at 88. The plate 80 is further provided at its forward end with a bearing 89 wherein is mounted a swivel pin 90 which supports a swiveling sleeve 91. Held in said swiveling sleeve 91 to move therethrough is a plunger 92 which carries at its upper end a air of -rearwardly extending arms 93 one 0 which engages in one of the slots 88 while the other engages the other slot. Mounted u on the plate 80 are guide members in the orm of cam plates and comprising an inwardly inclined cam plate 94 and an outwardly 1nclined cam plate 95 the opposed surfaces of said cam plates being substantially parallel throughout. By means of this construction as the plunger 92 is raised or depressed the stems 84 are swung so that one or the other is positioned vertically while the remaining stem is inclined to one side. In Figs. 7, 8

and 9 the front knifemember 85 is shown as arranged vertically while the rear knife member is wung to one side. It will be plain from kinspection of these figures that if the p1 90 be moved downward by the plunger the guide 95 will force both the stems 84 to the right and will consequently bring the stem of the rear knife member to the position now occupied by the front knife member.

In order to actuate the plunger 92 upon the passage of an ear of corn there is provided a rod .96 which extends through the walls of the members 42 whereinit is positioned and each of these rods 96 has a rearwardly and downwardly projecting central portion 97 which lies within the valleys 43 while the outer end of each rod is wi h-an rm ha g a. lo t d. eve. 9in

w th a orward y. I X ea s r. 10 18 rod 101 is held in a s'uitable bearing and is: provided with a Io r ngIeQp 1'03, gwl' h engages i the :slot

upper angle .portion'104' which isd givotally engagednin the ear 100. "The r "101 is further surrounded by a tension sprin 105 which has one endfattached to the ro and 42. By means of this construction the rod the other end to alug 106 on the members 101' is normally depressed and carries with it the plunger 92 and pin 90. In order to actuate the knife members 85 the shaft 48. hasmounted thereon a pair of striking arms 106 which may be adjusted to var their angular relations by means of suita le nut screws 1 07.

In order to understand the operation of this device there has been indicated in Fig. 7 an ear of corn as at A in the'act of passing'beneath the cutting knives. As the ear strikes the trip 97 the rod 101 is raised and carries therewith the plunger 92. This causes the arms 93 to move up and the guides 94 and 95 act to bring the forward cutter member 85 in a vertical position. Meanwhile the shaft 48 is rotating and as this cutter member comes into the vertical osition one of the arms 106 contacts with he'upper endsthereof and forces the cutter member down thus severing the tip from the ear, the parts being so arranged with reference to speed and proportions that this tip comes ust under the knife when the arm 106 strikes the stem 84 of the forward cutting member. This is permitted by means of the adjustability of the arm 106' on the shaft 48. Now as the earA is carried fartherup the butt of the ear asses from beneath the trip 97 and the ro 101 is brought down by the spring 19;) carrying therewith the .plunger 92 and fingers 93. This causes the rear cutter member 85. to be positioned vertically while the forward cutter member 85 is swungtc the right of Figs. 8 and 9. The second arm 106 has been positioned previously on the shaft 48 so that the I angular distance between the two arms 106 will be such as to permit the ear A'to pass rearward so that only its butt remains underneath the rear knife 85 when the arm 106 which actuates that member comes into operation. As this arm comes around. it strikes the rear stem 84 and depresses the knife and cuts off the butt,

Mounted on each side of each of the members 42 and to the rear of the cutter knives just described there are provided diagonally positioned as to remove the shucks from the ears of corn after they have been cut and permit them topushed over the sides of arranged shucking books 108 which are so function" w so that the'hooks to the rear of the first 1 which veyer ights 115 and these conveyer flights the members 42 as fast as the earsrpass un-- derne'ath these shucking hooks. e'diagonalnrran ement furthermore hasanother iich consists in rptatmg the ear hooks are enabled to remove the shucks from the other side of the ear.

Mounted upon the rear of the tilting frame is a conveyer casing 109 provided on 1 its forward side with openings 110 which are held in alinement with the valleys 43- so thatears led up through these valleys ass through the o enings 110. Supporte on shafts 111 and 112 are sprockets 113 over ass chains 114 provided with conare arranged to move transversely of the harvester over a conveyer table 116.

In order to actuate the conveyer ust de- 2 scribed the shaft 51 is projected through one of the members26 and carries upon its outer end a bevel gear 117. Supported on the members 26 is a countershaft 118 provided with a bevel gear 119 which meshes with the gear 117. The countershaft 118 is,

further provided. with a bevel-gear 120 which meshes with a bevel gear 121 fixed upon the shaft 112. By means of this construction the conveyer which extends transversely of the implement is actuated as the wheels are rotated by the machine being drawn forward. Adjacent the delivery end I of the conveyer is a boot 122 to which is at tached a conveyer chute; 123 terminating in v the delivery spout 124 at its upperend,

which spout is so arranged that it is sufficiently high that a wagon may be drawn along beneath the spout in order that the material delivered therefrom may fall into the wagon. At the upper end of the conveyer chute 123 is a shaft 124 Whereon are mounted sprockets 125 which support the chains 126 of a conveyer moving within the chute 123'. Within the boot 122 is a shaft 127 which is provided with sprockets 128 of the husk and in order to detach this re- 1 maining portion and prevent its being delivered with the ears through the spout 124 there is mounted on top of the casing 109 a fan casing 130 wherein is mounted on a shaft 131 a blower 132. Communicating with the fan casing is a downwardly ex:

tending blast pipe 133 which terminates at its lower endina curved nozzle 134'whioh is directed in opposition to the movement of the conveyer chains 114 over the conveyer plate 116. In order to actuate this blower 132 the shaft 131 is continued'forwardly throu h the casing 130 and u on this continue ortion is mounted a elt pulley 135 whic 1 is connected by a belt 136 to a belt pulley 137 fixed upona shaft 138 carried in bearings 139 supported on one of the side members 26. The forward end of the, shaft 138 is provided with a bevel gear 140 which meshes with a bevel gear 141 fixed upon the shaft 48. i

In order to provide for the stalks of corn being properly guided to the knife blades 65' the forward ends of the members 62 have projecting therefrom guide teeth 142. These guide teeth have their forward ends upwardly inclined as clearly shown in Figs. 2=and 3 so that they do not tend to dig into the ground but ride along thereover and furthermore the guide teeth are preferably made of resilient material so that they will not break or be forced into the ground.

Securely attached to each of the members 42 and projecting laterally therefrom are lateral ear conveyer chutes 143 each of which is provided with a longitudinal valley 144. These conveyer chutes 143 are inclined downward at their forward ends and are provided along the forward edges with spaced gathering fingers 145. These gath erln fin ers are so arran ed that their,

lower ends pass close to but do not dig into the ground. Supported in the forward'ends of the members 42 and in bearings 146 formed on the members 143 are shafts 147 provided with cranks 148. Similarly supported in bearings 149 on the members 143 and bearings 150 on the members 62 are shafts 151 provided with cranks 152. The arms of the cranks 152 are longer than the arms of the cranks 148 so that the pitmen 153 which connect these cranks have a rotary movement at one end while the other end oscillates through the arc of a circle. These pitmen 153 are provided on their lower or forward ends with rake heads 154 having a plurality of spaced teeth 155' extending therefrom, these teeth 155 being so arranged as to lie and move in vertical planes intermediate of the teeth 145. In order to actuate this portion of the mechanism there is provided on the shaft 147 certain sprockets 156 which are connected by means of chains 157 with sprockets 158 "mounted on the shaft 66. By means of this construction the various pitmen 153 willhave a motion somewhat similar to that v of a tedder. Owing to this mechanism in front of the machine any ears of corn which may have dropped upon' the ground will be picked up upon the fingers 145 and carried leys 144 to the longitudinal valleys 43 upon each of the members143 is mounted an inner sprocket 159 and upon the outer ends of the members 143 are formed bearings 160 wherein is held a shaft 161 which supports a sprocket 162. Extending around the respective sprockets 159 and 162 is a conve'yer chain 163 which is provided with conveyer teeth 164. This conveyer chain is so arranged that the upper portion thereof moves inward along the valley 144 thus conveying any ears of corn which may be deposited therein to the inner end and forcing them into the valley 43 where they are treated precisely the same as the ears which are normally received from the snapping rolls 76. In order to drive the. shaft 161 the shaft 147 is provided on its outer end with a bevel gear 165 which meshes with a gear 166 carried on a shaft 167 supported in suitable bearings 168 mounted on the respective members 143. Each of these shafts .167 has upon its lower end a bevel gear 169 which meshes in turn with a bevel gear 170 fixed upon the respective shafts'161.

In thev operation of this device the draft animals are hitched in any suitable manner to the double-tree 29 and the driver takes his seat at 30. The machine is then started forward after the driver has regulated the proper angle for the tilting frame by means of the lever 37 and as the wheels 20 are rotated the sprocket chains 50 will rotate the shaft 48 which in turn actuates the shafts 51 and 66. These shafts in turn, as has been previously described, actuate the various elements of the machine. The harvester is driven along a row of corn and the knife blades 65 come in contact with the stalks and sever them at their lower ends. These stalks then fall between the conveyer mem-' bers 74 and are carried to the rear of the apparatus where the ears are snap ed off and dropped into the traps or vall at which they are conveyed beneath the knives 85 where their ends are removed and from whence they pass under the fingers 108 where the husks are stripped. From this place they pass through the openings 110 into the conveyer which runs transversely across the rear of the machine and any of the remaining husksare blown backward and out of the casing 109 through an opening 171 to one side thereof while the now entirely husked ears are carried to the elevator 123 up which they pass to fall out of the chute 124 into a cart or other suitable bee, 19a

eye 43 chains 163 to be deposited in the valleys 43 p and cut and stripped precisely as has been previously described. It is thus obvious that by means of this harvester all of the corn is saved and is readily harvested and deposited in a wagon or other suitable receptacle without reference to whether it be on the ground or still on the stalk. There has thus been provided a highly efficient device of the character described and for the purpose specified.

It is obvious that many minor changes may be made in the form and construction of this invention without departing from the material principles thereof. It is not therefore desired to confine the invention to the exact form herein shown and described, but it is wished to include all such as properly come within the scope ofthe appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, is a 1. In acorn harvester, an eargathering mechanism comprising stationary car 001- lecting fingers, a crank arranged to rotate continuously in one direction, a pitman connected thereto and having a feeding finger at one end, and a guide element arranged to move the other end of said pitman in a curved path.

2. In a corn harvester, an ear gathering mechanism comprising stationary ear collecting fingers, a crank arranged to rotate continuously in one direction, a pitman connected, thereto and having a feeding finger at one end, and a guide element arranged to move the other end of said pitman in the arc of a circle.

'3. In a corn harvester, an ear gatherin mechanism comprising stationary ear co lecting fingers, a crank arranged to rotate continuously in one direction, a pitman connected thereto and having a feeding finger at one end, and, a second crank connected to the upper end of said pitman.

4'. In a corn harvester, an ear gathering mechanism comprising stationary ear collecting fingers, a crank arranged to rotate continuously in one direction, a pitman connected thereto and having a feeding finger at one end arranged to pass between the adjacent ear collecting fingers, and a reciprocatory crank being longer than the first mentioned crank.

5. In a corn harvester, an ear gathering mechanism comprising stationary ear collecting fingers, a crank arranged to rotate continuously in one direction, a pitman connected thereto and having a feeding finger at one end,- a guide element arranged to move the other end of said pit-man in a curved path, a conveyer extending across the rear ends ,of said ear collecting fingers,

tractor wheels and an operative connection between said conveyer and crank and the tractor wheels.

6. In a corn harvester, tractor wheels, a

longitudinal conveyer, a lateral conveyer, an ear gathering mechanism comprising stationary ear collectin fingers extending forward and downwar from the lateral conveyer, a crank, a pitman connected thereto I and having-a feeding finger at one end, a

guide element arranged to move the other 15 end of said pitman in a curved path, and

operative connections between said conveyers, the crank, and the tractor wheels. In testimony whereof, I' afii'x my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM H. MORRIS. -Witnesses: 7

- A L. TUCKER,

DANIEL DAVIS. 

